A relook at defence blacklist

What: Defence Minister Parrikar said the Ministry will “re-ascertain” the list of blacklisted firms based on the new policy
The new policy is called ‘Guidelines of the Ministry of Defence for penalties in business dealings with entities’
It was approved by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Nov 7 and was released by the Ministry on 21 Nov
The new policy has reduced the period of blanket ban to 5 years from 10 years. However, the upper limit of the ban period has not been specified
The policy makes a provision to do business with a blacklisted firm for support of critical spares and maintenance in view of national security
But it requires the approval of the Defence Minister